Bringing new hires into your business is a challenge no matter where you work. 

But in a coworking space, where flexibility meets productivity, onboarding and training can be streamlined—if you do it right.

If you want your employees to ramp up quickly, become high performers, and actually stay, follow this proven five-step approach to onboarding in a coworking environment.

Step 1: Set Up a Structured Training Plan

I’ve seen so many business owners mess up onboarding by throwing new hires into the deep end with zero structure. 

Instead of setting them up for success, they expect them to “figure it out.” That’s how you burn through employees fast.

To avoid this, create a structured training plan before day one by doing the following:

• Get all paperwork handled digitally instead of wasting money on printing everything—use a CRM like Catalyst Business Solutions to send and track payroll documents, tax forms, and NDAs automatically.
• Build a step-by-step training guide that new hires can access anytime. A good CRM like Catalyst Business Solutions has built-in course modules where you can upload training videos, walkthroughs, and quizzes. Plus, you’ll be able to see their progress for accountability. 
• See it, show it, own it: After new hires watch videos, have them demonstrate the task in front of you (video or in a coworking space) so you can ensure their competency.

Once they’ve proven they can do the job, let them do it, and don’t be overbearing. Trust them to do it or fail.

If you’re constantly hovering over them, they will never do more than what’s required.

Step 2: Use Tulsa Coworking Space for In-Person & Virtual Training

A Tulsa Coworking Space give you the best of both worlds—dedicated office space without the overhead. 

You can and should leverage that to run effective in-person and virtual training sessions.

For in-person training:

• Host weekly team huddles in the conference room. Keep it structured: review wins (like positive customer reviews), clarify expectations, and run practice drills.
• Use role-playing exercises. New hires should practice customer interactions, sales calls, or troubleshooting scenarios with experienced team members or you.
• Set up casual networking time. The coffee shop or lounge areas in a Tulsa Coworking Space like Catalyst Coworking in Tulsa are perfect for informal check-ins that reinforce company culture.

For virtual training:

• Read reviews and clarify expectations.
• Have experienced team members screen-share their workflows to demonstrate best practices and potentially learn new effective ones.
• Do the same with new hires and worst performers to present their work in front of the team. This builds accountability and confidence and allows everyone to see what not to do and why.
• Record all training sessions so they can be referenced later.

Whether in-person or virtual, keep training interactive. No one learns by sitting through an hour-long monologue.

Step 3: Create a Collaborative Learning Culture

Company culture starts from the top: with you.

If you do something slightly off like showing up to work late or not taking responsibility for failures, it starts to roll downhill like a snowball. Eventually, that little slip is going to crush your whole team because you set the standard for failure.

Instead, if you want a collaborative learning culture where engaged employees take ownership of their roles, show up on time, and behave like winners, you need to create an environment where learning is constant and mistakes are opportunities to grow.

Here’s how:

• Lead by example. If you’re constantly improving and sharing what you learn, your team will follow suit. If you show up 15 minutes early to meetings, they will too. 
• Make a creative environment. New hires should have space to make decisions, fail, and hold responsibility. While you might have some employees take advantage of you, just fire them, as this environment will 10x your great employees. 
• Treat your people with dignity. If you need to reprimand an employee, do it privately, as doing it publicly will make you look like a tyrant. Remember, employees are people too.

When employees feel supported and challenged, they don’t just clock in and out—they actually care about doing great work.

Step 4: Automate Repetitive Onboarding Tasks

Manually onboarding every new hire wastes your time and leads to inconsistency, so automate everything you can instead.

With a CRM like Catalyst Business Solutions:

• Send automated onboarding emails that introduce company values, goals, and next steps.
• Assign video courses that new hires can complete at their own pace (which lets you see how much progress they are making).
• Create an automation sequence that schedules check-ins at 7, 14, and 30 days to ensure they’re adjusting well.

The more you automate, the smoother the onboarding process becomes and the more time you will gain back for yourself.

Step 5: Give Them the Right Tools to Succeed

If your employees start thinking of their position in their job as if they were an owner, they are going to take your business just as seriously as you, and make you more money as a result.

The best way you can help them to think like you is to educate them on how to run your business. 

That’s why I created my Substack newsletter, Catalyst for Business Growth, so business owners and employees alike can access expert insights, and proven assets like sales scripts, lead conversion frameworks, and business growth strategies.

If you want to:

• Train your team to think like business owners, not just employees
• Give them the tools to close more deals and bring in more revenue for you
• Set them up for long-term success in your company

Then subscribe to my newsletter. It’s packed with real-world strategies that drive business results—no fluff, just actionable steps.